Snapper, re-visited
It's been a long time since we've mentioned Snapper in these pages.
In the meantime it's become so much of an everyday part of life in Wellington now that it hardly seems worth mentioning anymore. Or is it?
Recently we got an email from Snapper asking us if we'd like to come and see what they're up to. It seems they've had a few other things on the go as well as the recent Valley Flyer conversion and they'd like to let us know about them.
Sounds good. But it doesn't have to be a one way thing. Now's our chance to ask Snapper what they're doing to bring some of our public transport "most needed" items into reality:
- fully integrated ticketing across all public transport providers in the Wellington region, and
- our bus stops equipped with real time bus information - we may not want much, but we want the best, and at the moment we have to admit that Christchurch, at least in part, Has It.
What about you? If you could ask the Snapper people a question, what would it be? Is there something you'd like changed? Is there anything about the present system that bugs you?
Let us know, below, and we'll pass it along.
1// If I can buy a cup of coffee with a Snapper card, why can't I buy a daytripper with it?
2// In London, the Oyster card only charges the miniumum fare possible for the day. So if I swipe three fares, but a daytripper is cheaper, it charges the daytripper price. In Wellington, a lot of travelling with a Snapper is an expensive option. Will this change?
Heh, even Hamilton has it!
I concur re the daytripper - also being able to pay for your mate??
registration for the card so if you lose it you can cancel it and load your money onto a new one
Enough with the pre recorded voice when you swipe on
People who pay with cash to be aware people with cards are behind you and can slip past while you fiddle with your coins
and while im ranting how about a happy pill for some of the drivers!
Apparently you can actually use snapper for a friend - you just need to tell the driver and they're able to do something with their terminal that puts two fares on the one card. [disclaimer: I've only been told about this, and don't know anybody that's actually done it]
You can, but because the driver has to fiddle with the terminal first, you hold everyone one up, and if you absent-mindedly swipe too fast you get charged the wrong (cheaper) fare and then they look at you all grumpy and wave you on anyway.
That exact thing has happened to me more than once when taking the family on the bus!
Just talk to the driver first – BEFORE tagging on – then swipe when they tell you. We do it quite often as my partner is useless about topping their Snapper up.
Just make sure nobody pushes past you and tags on AFTER the driver has pushed buttons and BEFORE you tag your double fare! There doesn't seem to be an 'undo' function.. and had a very grumpy fellow traveller that got stung for a double fare!
registration for the card so if you lose it you can cancel it and load your money onto a new one
Hey, you can actually do this already. You can register your card online, and if you lose it, they'll "hotlist" it and transfer the balance onto your new card.
More info at Snapper's FAQ.
Given that you have to pay for a card, and there's a transaction cost for loading it, how does it comply with the legal requirement to provide a 20% discount?
Will they update their policy to allow on-line balance checking without supplying unnecessary personal details?
What about doing away with the zone system and charging for stops travelled, now that the infrastructure is in place to measure it?
Stephen: Did you ever get satisfaction on the privacy issues you raised last year?
Never heard back from any one. I did have a very enjoyable coffee with someone from the Privacy Commission though.
Do you have a reference for this? It would make a pretty good question...
Damnit, I can't find where I heard that. I understood anyway that transport operators were required (perhaps by their contract with the local authority?) to offer a minimum 20% discount.
In any case, clearly I am paying more for my transport than I did with the 10 trip ticket, which had no transaction fee or one-off cost.
Why is it that if you forget to snap off, the next time you snap on you get charged the maximum cash fare for a 3-zone trip, as opposed to just pinging you for the 3-zone 'discounted' fare?
Why?
Why not just charge the 3-zone discounted fare? That way all 3-zone travellers could just do away with snapping off, safe in the knowledge that their fare will be subtracted on their next voyage. And it would improve travel times: no more annoying multi-swipes to get your card read.
How about being able to transfer to another bus – for a minimal cost? In the US it’s common to able to get on another bus for 20c – so long as you do it within 2 hours of getting off the first one. You could get off at the shops, then get back on another bus for just 20c, or make a more complex trip involving multiple buses..
Also much better now it tells you when ‘funds are low’..
And not so related to Snapper but why can’t buses run on time? Not early or late.. and is it just me but why do so many more buses get driven about “Not in Service” now?
Hutt Valley buses let you transfer on a Snapper within 30 minutes, so why can't this be extended to Wellington?
As for the "card value low" warning, I'd like to be able to customise when I get the warning. Most of my trips are on the $1 inner city fare, so a $10 balance is going to go a lot further than if I was making daily three-zone trips.
On the Karori Park Bus this morning, the snapper machine erupted and started emitting a hideously distorted high pitched noise — to the absolute disgust of all on-board. This went on for about 15 minutes until the driver 'noticed'.
This is one of many incidents I can recall since this has been introduced. And to be honest, compared to other 'western' countries the snapper system is an amateur embarrassment.
Couple that with the daily fatality of at least one of the 'NEW' trolley buses.
Begs me to ask the question 'What the fuck do they spend their money on?'
Transfers without paying twice. that would be truly awesome. Either by doing away with zones and charge per distance or bus stop (possible but might be confusing), or make every charge on your snapper valid for a period of time. If you hop on another bus within the same time period, you won't be charged twice. Something like that could work right?
In the longer term, easy transfers would allow for a better and more evenly distributed grid of bus routes that won't only take you to the CBD and back but anywhere. If you can transfer, not *every* single bus has to crawl the same route between Courtenay place and the station.
Also: more electric buses please, no diesels! There's still hardly a trolley bus on the roads at night, which is a shame.
I don't know about the bus company but I can tell you what Snapper spends their money on:
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/6573
And you've never been on the receiving end of sponsorship? Swings and roundabouts...
Not by something that should be a public service!
Hi everyone
Great to see the interest in Snapper - and the questions. Keep them rolling, looks like we will have a wide-ranging and interesting conversation tomorrow!
Miki
CEO - Snapper Services
Having spent a year on the buses, I'm sooo happy to be back on trains. I can't stand catching buses, largely due to the grumpy drivers who are also in desperate need of driving lessons and copy of the road code. I managed to avoid a snapper card by stocking up on 10 trips last year and will do anything to avoid having to carry around YET ANOTHER CARD in my wallet, not to mention one that I have to transfer money onto periodically from another piece of plastic. I'm am in absolutely no rush for integrated ticketing, so the longer they delay it the better, or at the very least have options for people who don't want to carry a stupid card and don't want to have to pay transaction fees for the 'privilege' of topping up. Topping up large amounts is far too risky seeing as it is a card with no pin and your balance is displayed for all and sundry to see, while topping up small amounts is more expensive and inconvenient. You cannot win with this system (not to mention the 'increased discount' was completely cancelled out, and then some, with increased fees in September last year). At the very least lower the fees (ideally to nothing), make balances more confidential and please, for the love of God, turn of the damn sound! There is nothing worse at 7 in the morning or 5 at night than the constant sound of people 'snapping on' and 'snapping off', or worse, failing to use the damn thing correctly 5 times in a row.
All grumpy bus drivers I've ever encountered, times 10, cannot top the grumpyness of that guy who sells tickets at the train station! He was so incredibly rude to me, I would have far rather walked to Petone over giving him money (if not for the fact it was raining). Apparently, he was very nice to my nana however; maybe he's ageist or can tell she's badass and would tear him a new one if he was anything but.
Oh and about the voice things on snapper, are they just another thing the bus drivers use to make sure no one sneaks on?
Still not seeing how anything is a better option than my Gold Pass. I can travel all over the place (on the Wellington buses), all day any day, and not pay a single fare. The price works out to about $3 a day. WIN.
Though Snapper works out better for less regular users.
From what I understand, the Gold Pass will eventually be phased out, and instead you'll buy a monthly pass on your Snapper card.
Gah! they better not fuck me >;
I'm sorry but why is this system so pisspoor.
I think the Snapper should be exactly like the Oyster Card. Please get rid of using it at shops. That is stupid. It's for public transport ok. It should be a $10 deposit for the card, not a price. Do away with 25c top-up fee. Make machines like they have in London for topping up. Make a better discount. In London, an Oyster Card gives you a 90p bus fare instead of a £2 fare. Why can't we have discounts like this? Provide a Student Snapper card, for sniversity students. Please make it useable on the train network. Make machines at the train station so I don't have to talk to someone to buy a ticket.
Just my 2[0 per]cents
I live in the $1.50 to town bus zone.
Based on a 25% saving per trip, it will take me around 70 bus trips to pay off the $10 fee.
I do make the odd trip further afield, but not more than once every 3 weeks.
I'm not bothered about paying with it at shops.
How can you make Snapper worth getting for me?
So if you make 2 bus trips a day, that'll take little over a month to make 70 trips. Doesn't sound like much time or effort to save over $10 on the cash fare.
- A quicker & more intuitive interaction between card & reader is a big priority. A simple tap or close wave is sufficient for the London Oyster card ... whereas the Welly-Snapper requires a press & hold without moving for a couple of seconds. The system is meant to make matters quicker and simpler. If this interaction was sorted out properly, then Id have less of an issue with people having to tap-off too. (London buses being on a flat rate means that you don't need to tap-off)
- The loud voice is very, very annoying. The use of a tone is sufficient (even for a low credit warning).
- Ability to have a monthly travelcard on the Snapper, for different zones. So you pay a cheap flat fee for the month and don't have to worry about running out of credit pre-payday.
- Daily Price Caps should be a priority feature, if this whole system is about public/customer service.
- Auto top-up is another good feature from the Oyster, which can ensure you never run out of credit - but also aren't risking having a lot of credit on your card (problem in case of theft).
Hey, I am a student of Wellington East Girls College doing a Media Studies assignment on Snapper cards. It is meant to be primarily targeted at the students of my school, but I am more interested in looking at how Wellingtonians find Snapper cards. I have been trying to get hold of some one in Snapper Services Limited to get them to answer questions. Would really like to get the CEO to interview, but they only put me through to the Marketing Manager. Meanwhile, would you be able to help me with my assignment? As bus users, how has the introduction of Snapper cards affected you? (eg. longer queues to get on, easier(or harder) to use buses) and, if any of you hve secondary school children, what do they think of this and the introduction of Snapper cards as something that can be a feature on their ID cards.
Heh, I see what you did there... ;)
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